Author: Press Room

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ Beneficiaries and people on NZ Super are experiencing faster increases in the cost of living, while the biggest spenders are getting some relief, new data shows. Stats NZ has released data for the September quarter, which shows the average New Zealand household experienced a cost-of-living increase of 2.4% over the previous 12 months. That is less than the 3% rate of inflation, because it includes a 15.4% drop in mortgage interest payments. Mortgage interest payments were the main contributor to highest-spending households recording the lowest annual inflation, Stats NZ said. Their annual inflation rate was…

Changes which mean homeowners will be able to build small structures like garden sheds, sleepouts and garages closer to their property boundaries without requiring building consent have come into effect.Cabinet agreed in August to remove the minimum distance required between single-storey buildings under 10sqm and a property boundary or other residential building, and reduce it to one metre for buildings between 10 and 30sqm.Previously, these structures needed to be set back from boundaries or residential buildings by at least their own height. Anything closer than that often required building consent.The changes, made by amending Schedule 1 of the Building Act…

Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale scores his leadership lower than most of his team members score him.Councils around the country are regrouping after the October 11 election, but the Tauranga councillors are a year into their special four-year term and were spared the polls.Tauranga’s elected “team of 10” replaced the Government-appointed commission that ran the city from 2021.Local Democracy Reporting asked the mayor and councillors to rate their performance out of 10 in seven key areas after 14 months on the job.Drysdale rated himself a seven for leadership, as did his deputy Jen Scoular, but four colleagues gave him an eight.His…

A heavy dumping of snow has prompted some road closures and seen vehicles trapped in parts of the South Island this morning. MetService has lifted most of its watches and warnings issued over Labour Day into early this morning, with just one heavy rain warning remaining in place for the eastern ranges of Bay of Plenty until this afternoon, and some snow watches and warnings. It reported that Mount Cook received about 20cm of snow last night, with more to come.A 1News reporter in Dunedin said half-a-dozen cars had been stuck at Pine Hill overnight. New Zealand Transport Agency Waka…

The Government has committed a $6 million investment towards a wider initiative it describes as “the biggest step in a generation” to restore the health of the Hauraki Gulf.The funding was part of a wider $26 million package combining public and private investment aimed at rejuvenating the marine environment, creating jobs, and strengthening connections between people and place.Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said the Hauraki Gulf was one of New Zealand’s great taonga and for too long had been under pressure from pollution, sediment, and overuse.”We’re taking practical steps to rejuvenate it, for our children, our kaimoana, and our communities. It…

Labour has agreed to campaign on a capital gains tax (CGT) covering just property — excluding the family home and farms — to help fund a new scheme offering a limited number of free GP visits.The plan was approved by the Labour caucus in a near-unanimous vote, and the party’s council and policy council have also signed off on the plan.The policy was announced on Monday morning after RNZ was earlier leaked details.It ends months of internal debate over whether to pursue a wealth tax or a CGT.The caucus and party council have settled on the latter, signing off on…

Management at a new wild deer processing plant in Dunedin are calling for hunting access to southern farms with an overabundance of the animals. Southern Wild Game Co project lead Jim Goodall, of Central Otago, said they would start processing wild deer at their newly fitted-out facility in Kaikorai Valley Rd in Dunedin on Monday. The business employs 15 fulltime staff including butchers and boners. Wild deer would be sourced across the South Island, with a strong focus of working with hunters in the Otago and Southland area. Farmers who had any issue with wild deer could contact Southern Wild…

Twenty-three people have been arrested across Auckland for dangerous and unlawful behaviour during weekend celebrations tied to Samoa’s league victory over Tonga, with police saying the majority of revellers marked the occasion peacefully.On Sunday, Toa Samoa beat Mate Ma’a Tonga 34-6 at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, landing the team a spot in the Pacific Championship final.The arrests, 14 on Saturday night and nine on Sunday, came as officers monitored several town centres across Auckland, including Ōtāhuhu, Māngere, Ōtara and Clendon, that traditionally celebrated the two teams.Police said they observed a high volume of vehicles and pedestrians in these areas, with most…

Te Pāti Māori has moved to suspend MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi as well as a push to “reset” the executive of her Te Tai Tokerau electorate committee.It comes after months of bad blood amongst the party after allegations were made by the MP’s son, former party executive Eru Kapa-Kingi, of a “dictatorship model” from the party leadership.In a meeting last Thursday evening, Te Pāti Māori put forward four motions to its national executive, including the suspension of the Te Tai Tokerau MP.Motion 1 was that the Te Tai Tokerau Electorate Executive be “reset” by way of a Special General Meeting. Minutes…

The Tour of Southland cycle race has been postponed as the recovery continues following last week’s “unprecedented regional weather event”, Cycling Southland has announced.The 69th edition of the event had been scheduled to run from November 2 to 8.Organisers opted to postpone the race to prioritise resources such as traffic management for use as part of the ongoing State of Emergency for the region.Cycling Southland president Julian Ineson said the organisation had been liaising with sponsors, funders, local councils and lines companies.”This has been a really tough call to make, but we believe it’s the right one given the severity…